Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-03-19
TEXAS PANHANDLE.
4 GLIMPSE OF soME OF ITS SOCIAL
 INSTITUTIONS.

4 Formulation Over Which the state and
 Nation Have Practically No CiVh or
 Criminal JurisdIctiOn-Everybo HIS
 Own Lawyer.
 1T the truth were known, the Pan handle of Texas would be voted the Pohll- caI social and material curiosity or tlils country There is nothing like It m tiiis country OF any other country It Is strictly ori-inal. stands out by ltsei anu freezes ou Co its peculiarities with a steau' fastness characteristic of America III seI' eral and Texns in particular.
 The Panhandle covers territory eOou' as larlss as the state of New York It eN- tends from the Indian territory on tls north. almost Co the Texas x PaclIic ralI- road. on the south. and from New MeNicO c1 the west almost to the Fort Worth & Denver ruilrusd on the east. IL IS larker than many European countries that sing loud in an international chorus. Nlthlh its confines are mountains and forests, lakes and streams, valleys and rivers, Iron mines. copper mines. silver mines, coiil mines that age known of, and perhaps uuch more mineral wealth that IS not known Of. hamicts. ranches, caves, lnesas, mineral sprir-s. steep precipices, shady groves and many vcrdant plains
 The Panhandle Is divided into htty- three counties. but not more than six or seven Of them are organized. The people of the Panhandle have q very supreme contempt for law, and have not much more use for a sheriff or Ou attorney than they huvc for grass burner or cattle thief When the word "lGw is usedi lt should Ia remembered that it applies 10 The enactInents of what the Panhandle folks coutemptuOusly term the Austin law factory There Is an unwritten code in the Panhandle, and woe tO the man who violates it. A man must not steal cattle in the Panhaudlc; neither must he cut fences, burn grass, i'll up wells with earth. break dams or Kill man In cold bIooI There are less than 100 women in the Panhandle. and they are all good women. There are no jails in the region, fines are Ioo!SeI upon with contempt, and the only punishment awarded tO those who violate the code of the region is death or expulsion. If man kills another in a nght he has toau5wcr before no law court; his right to kill a man in @ fair fight is not questioned.
 JUDGE LTNCd's JUSTICE.
 Ifamln kills another by stcalth-that i5. if he steals up behind him and plunges a knife in his back or shoots him unawares -.Iud-e Lynch immediately takes hold of the offender. administers rigid justice devoil of tcchnicalities or bubbles or stays of proceeding, and if the murder was cold-bloOdcd and cOwarJlly the murderer is more certain Of being hanged than he would be in St. Louis, Chicago, New York, .rN If a man k convicted of cattle stealing before Judge Lynch he Is certain If being hanged. IT a man is caught cutting a fence or setting fire to grass he is shot down without hesitation, or If subsequently, arraiEued before Judge Lynch and it is shown on testimony. direct or circunstan- tial that he was guilty of the Oiense, he will be hanged This is about all the care they have in the Panhandle. \ man must take care of himself. He must fight his own battles If he k not able to fight, if he k afraid to fight. if he has any prejudice against fighting. he had better seek some other location than the Panhandle of Texas for an abiding place In fact, the Panhandle might be described as one vast region devoid of law, defying law, getting along comfortably without law.
 Of course the great majority of the Pan handle people are not addicted Co reminis- ccnce- The man who receives mail matter from a former home In another state is Q rarity. But. of course. there are excep- tions. No doubt many Panhandle men could prove that they are wearing the same name now that they inherited from their parents. But it is not considered good taste in the Panhandle to be too in- quisitive. and the man who persists in dclviug into the affairs of another man is almost certain to have fight on his hands without unnecessary delay.
 The people are social, hOspitable and generous. The ethical code of the region forbils any inquiry concerning a stranger. lf the new arrival wants a job at wire punching or line riding 1t is taken fOl granted that it Is his intention to become permanent resident; If he loafs around without attempting to secure @ job at an r. thing he becomes an object of suspicion Detectives sometimes have the hardihoOd Co penetrate the Panhandle, but if they should be suspected they are invariably treated Co hospitabie graves. Detectives and law officers arc not wanted and will not be tolerated in the Panhandle The permanent sOjOurners in the region make no preteuse of denying that they are there because of a disagreement with the rules ut action prescribed by law in the regions whence they came. It is a republic of tol- erat.On, and mind your own business is the constitution--COr. Globe Democrat